Lost in San Francisco...

...dodging piles of trash. This show is now on the road yo! Traveling with me is my recently completed retro onesie. A while ago I acquired a large quantity of Laura Ashley fabric from a wonderful friend (thanks Carin!) and this is my first garment utilizing it. It's also the first time I've made this pattern I created using a vintage romper from my collection as a guide...needs a few tweaks but was otherwise a success!

After celebrating Grandpa's 80th birthday in Ashland, my aunt and uncle were so kind as to tote me southward in their hybrid SUV. They deposited me gently in Berkeley, CA where I glided swiftly over the bay on BART to the glowing pastel concrete maze of San Francisco. Well, it wasn't exactly glowing when I arrived. Night had fallen, so my friend and hostess Ali graciously swooped me up at her station. I had been just been joking that given her neighborhood, the night would probably end in burritos, tequila shots and homeless weirdies. I wasn't too far off. Enchiladas, IPA's and a man bleeding in the street with the police screeching to the scene were the actual events (although reverse that order if its chronological accuracy you're after). Either way, things were kicked off to a jolly good San Francisco start.

Gaga

How awesome is this? I just received a lengthy email from my girl Mariel, who is Peace Corpsing it up in the Dominican Republic. Naturally, this photo went straight to my heart. It's a costume to celebrate Carnival/Easter week the Haitian/Dominican way: dressing up in colorful handmade costumes and cracking whips while asking people for money. Oh, and playing traditional Gaga music with long trumpets (I guess it's called Rara in Haiti but has been imported to the DR where they call it Gaga). This caused me to wonder a bit, because I remember Fasching (also Easter week celebration) in Germany where people dressed up in intricate, raggedy-looking costumes (but with carefuly constructed, hand-painted masks), paraded about and children cracked whips. I also recall paraders tossing little bottles of liquor out to the crowd, at which point drunken adults would shove small children groping for candy aside to retrieve them. Anyway, my question is: what do fabulous monster costumes and whips have to do with celebrating Easter/Spring? At this point, it makes just about as much sense as a magical bunny hiding foil-covered chocolate eggs for children to find in the morning.

P.S. If you want to be a superfly low budget philanthropist, you can assist Mariel in her good deeds. Here is an excerpt from her email and some things she could use:

*Inflatable beach balll
*Hard rubber gym ball
*Kids books and young adult books in Spanish (check out my amazon wishlist… but feel free to buy from your local bookstore…hint, hint)
*Small “prizes” (dollar bin items, toothbrushes, small toothpastes, think stocking
stuffers, coloring books)
*Educational games (that can easily be bilingual)
*Sports equipment of all kinds
*Miscellaneous arts and crafts supplies (tie-dye kits, kids crafts book, paints, oragami paper, tissue paper, popsicle sticks, magazines, food coloring, thread for braclets, beads, etc.)
*Netting for soccer goals
*Legos
*Classroom decorations (in spanish)
*Puzzles
*Math blocks (ones, tens, hundreds)
*Be creative!!! If you send it, I will use it!!!

Or if it's easier to donate funds, a great opportunity is to support Camp Glow, a girls camp held in July, that I am helping plan, edit the manual, and taking 3 girls from my community to attend. For more information and to donate, check out: https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=517-303

And a million and one thanks to those who have already donated. You guys are the best!! Proper Thank Yous will follow the camp.

**If you are sending a package and it is small, please try to put it in a padded envelope. If it is larger than that, it is fine to send it in a box but send it through the post office…NOT FEDEX or UPS. Keep in mind that a package may take up to a month to get here, but so far, they have all arrived (as far as I know). The address is:

Mariel Beasley, PCV
Cuerpo de Paz

451 Bolivar, Gazcue

Apartado Postal 1412

Santo Domingo

Dominican Republic

While we're on the subject...

As Shola and I begin making bits of progress on Hannah's wedding dress, (against the the ever present background stream of Kelty's engagement photos on Steep Street) has got me thinking about well, weddings. This one just called out to me from Etsy. It seems far too perfect and precious, but now imagine it with a few tattoos and some bondage heels! Oh man, it makes me drool a little bit. Any rockabilly brides out there with dark hair and Bettie Page bangs that want me to design their wedding for them? More photos to salivate over at TimelessVixenVintage...

My roommate's a nurse!

With wicked fresh ultra number one laser vision! Well, almost. She still has to take a gigantic test, but she graduated from nursing school (with honors, boom!) and this her reward from me.

Katie: "Aww, you guys didn't have to get me anything!"
Caitlin: "Um...I didn't."

Birthday leftovers in my mouth (thanks Hannah!)

Quotable quotes of weekend sensibility and perversion

"I'm only getting the 220 option, am I doing something weirdie with a beardie?"

"I would like three one tacos, please"

"Yeah some of those garlic cloves can be very a lot." "What?" "They vary a lot"

"I accidentally spilled a bottle of vodka in my face hole, so...if I seem to be not quite with it, I'm not."

"Are you ladies gay-friendly?"

"HISSSSSSSSSS"

"And they were like, 'We should have a girls spa day and do botox!'"

THE HUMAN NOGGIN

Deedle deet deet deet.

Cute custom order on the clean kitchen floor...

Are you watching?

You're the one in the skinny pants and I'm the one in the dress.